Outbreaks of Covid-19 throughout the prison network caused disruption to criminal cases today, with one prison officer telling a High Court judge that there have been "outbreaks in every prison".
This morning a prisoner was not produced in court from Cloverhill Prison in Dublin, with their barrister telling the presiding judge: "There is a Covid issue at Cloverhill, described as 'lockdown'." In the afternoon, a prison officer told the court: "There's been outbreaks in every prison," adding that he believed the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise and others were also affected.
He said his understanding was that Dublin's Wheatfield Prison was the only site still accepting prisoners and that officials met today to decide what to do.